The present invention relates to compressed gas operated firearms and more particularly to multiple-charge magazines for pneumatic gas-cylinder operated firearms shooting bullets, and also to containers for bullets, used in magazines of such firearms.
Known in the art are designs of magazines employed in pneumatic firearms using compressed gas cylinders and shooting, for instance, spherical bullets.
Bin-type magazines are known (U.S. Pat. No. 3077875, Cl. 124-76, 1963 and U.S. Pat. No. 4147152, Cl. F41B 11/06, priority of Mar. 1, 1977), wherein bullets are loaded into a cavity present in the pistol itself, and the bullets are passed for shooting into the barrel by gravity. Though the capacity of the magazine is large, the absence of forced feeding the bullets from the bin into the barrel makes the reliability of such a firearm low and limits the possibility of shooting from such a firearm, for instance, when its barrel is directed downwards.
Magazines are known, which are an independent structure (U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,527, Cl. 124-52, 1969) comprising a casing inside which bullets are arranged in one row. Under the action of a spring and a follower located in the lower portion of the casing, bullets are delivered to the shooting line. The magazine may be located directly in the pistol grip (U.S. Pat. No. 2,569,995, Cl. 124-53, 1951). In these magazine structures forced bullet feed to the firearm barrel is employed. Disadvantages of such magazines are their small capacity, as well as low reliability because of possible dropout of the bullets from the magazine as the latter is installed into or withdrawn from the firearm.
A structure is known in the art (Application EP 0844456 A2, Cl. F41B Nov. 2, 1998), wherein directly in the pistol under the barrel a passage is provided for locating bullets therein, the bullets being delivered to the shooting line under the action of a spring and a follower. This structure is disadvantageous in a limited capacity of the magazine and long process of magazine reloading.
A magazine is known (Patent RU 2118781, Cl. F41B Nov. 6, 1998), which is disposed in the pistol grip, wherein bullets are located in a bulk casing in which a spring with a follower are arranged, which provide sequential delivery of each bullet to the shooting line. This structure is disadvantageous in a limited capacity of the magazine.
The nearest analog is the structure of a magazine (Application PCT/FR 99/01199) located in the pistol grip. Bullets are disposed in a casing in a semioval passage, wherein a spring with a follower are arranged which provide sequential feeding of bullets into the barrel for shooting. An advantage of such a magazine is fast loading of the magazine and convenience of magazine removal from the firearm. The main disadvantage of this structure is inadequate reliability of feeding bullets into the barrel of the firearm.
Besides, all the above magazine structures suffer from common disadvantages:
only spherical bullets can be used in these magazines;
bullets in these magazines are subject to deformations associated with the mechanical mutual interaction of the bullets and with the direct action thereon of parts of the magazine and firearm, whereby the ballistic characteristics of the bullets and of the firearm are impaired.
The herein-proposed technical solutions are based on the idea of providing a magazine for a pneumatic firearm shooting bullets of an arbitrary form, which magazine will be structurally simple, easy to manufacture, convenient in service, in which magazine bullets are preliminarily loaded into containers, and these containers are arranged in a closed passage and move therealong, each loaded container being sequentially delivered to the shooting line for shooting.
The use of such magazine structure makes it possible to:
improve the reliability of feeding bullets for shooting, and thus to inprove the reliability of the firearm itself;
increase the magazine capacity owing to the presence of a closed passage practically of an arbitrary form and length;
provide efficient and convenient magazine replacement or reloading.
The use of containers for bullets in the magazine additionally makes it possible to:
use bullets of practically arbitrary form for shooting;
eliminate deformation of bullets in the magazine, whereby ballistic characteristics of the firearm are improved.
This is achieved by that a magazine for a pneumatic bullet-shooting firearm, comprising a casing with a port for loading the magazine with bullets, is provided with containers having a through opening, in each of which one bullet is accommodated. The containers are installed in a closed passage, along which they move inside the casing with the possibility of feeding sequentially one loaded container after another to the shooting line for shooting, with a simultaneous removal of an empty container from the shooting line after the shot. The magazine has a bullet opening in a wall of the casing, through which a bullet during the shot under the effect of a portion of a gas gets from the container into a bullet passage of the firearm barrel, a port for the entrance of a portion of gas for a shot to occur, which is disposed in a wall of the casing opposite to the bullet opening and coaxially with the through passage of the firearm barrel and with the through opening of a container with a bullet, said container occupying such position before each shot, and a port disposed in the wall of the casing above a closed passage above the through opening of the containers for an external arm of a striker-and-trigger mechanism, under the action of which the containers move along the closed passage with a successive positioning of each container on the shooting line.
The cross-section of the closed passage repeats the form of the generatrix of the container exterior, and the length of the passage is such that the clearance between two containers standing side by side provides their free movement along the passage.
Installed in the magazine casing between an upper wall of the casing and the closed passage is a block which contacts the containers and provides stable sequential positioning of each loaded container coaxially with the bullet passage of the firearm barrel before the shot. The wall of the block viewed from the side of the closed passage has a form repeating the form of the external wall of the passage, when the containers move along the passage. In the block wall from the side of the closed passage a cutout is provided, whose form repeats the form of the generatrix of the external side wall of the container. Between the wall of the casing and the block at least one spring is installed, which urges the block away from the wall of the casing in such a manner that during each movement of the containers along the closed passage the lower side of the block becomes a natural continuation of the side wall of the passage, and as the next in turn loaded container is brought to the shooting line the block descends onto the container for fixing the position of the container before the shot.
The port for loading the magazine with bullets is disposed in the wall of the casing above the closed passage above the through opening in the containers. The width of the port for loading the magazine with bullets is smaller than the external cross-section of the container, but larger than the cross-section of the bullet.
In the side wall of the magazine a longitudinal opening is provided, whose width is smaller than the longitudinal section of the container, serving for the containers to move under the effect of the shooter""s finger in loading the container with bullets.
The container is provided with a leaf spring which may be installed:
either on the wall of the casing above the port for supplying a portion of gas to the container, when the magazine is disposed in the firearm with a movable barrel, the leaf spring having an opening for a portion of gas to enter the container, the diameter of the opening being smaller than the cross-section of the bullet;
or on the wall of the casing above the bullet opening, when the magazine is disposed in the firearm with a stationary barrel, the leaf spring having an opening for the bullet to be delivered from the container into the firearm barrel during the shot, the diameter of the opening being larger than the cross-section of the bullet.
The magazine is further provided with a second opening in the wall of the casing above the closed passage above the through opening of the containers, adapted to receive a second external arm of the striker-and-trigger mechanism, under the action of which an empty container is withdrawn from the shooting line after the shot.
The container for bullets of a pneumatic firearm magazine, comprising a casing, has a barrel portion disposed from the side of a barrel, when the container is arranged in the magazine, and a valve portion disposed from the side of gas portion supply, end sides, a through opening between the barrel and valve sides, longitudinal projections being provided inside the opening on its wall, said projections being located nearer to the barrel end side, and tail projections located nearer to the valve side, for retaining the bullet inside the container after loading the latter. The longitudinal projections are located at a certain distance from the barrel end side of the container, and the tail projections are located at a certain distance from the valve end side of the container. The containers may have an arbitrary form, e.g., cylindrical or barrel-shaped. Bullets used for loading the container may have arbitrary form, e.g., spherical, cylindrical or spindle-shaped and may be made from iron or have an iron core, or be manufactured from a softer metal or plastic.